[Influence of Shenfu Injection on the quality of life of lung cancer patients receiving chemotherapy].
Keywords
Abstract
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the influence of Shenfu Injection (SHF) on the quality of life of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) receiving chemotherapy.
METHODS
A total of 133 patients with NSCLC receiving at least two cycles of chemotherapy with taxol plus cisplatin (TP)/vinorelbine plus cisplatin (NP) or gemcitabine plus cisplatin (GP) were randomized into SHF pre-treatment group (with SHF given only in the first cycle) and SHF post-treatment group (with SHF given only in the second cycle). The Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 30 (QLQ-C30) and the Functional Living Index-Cancer (FLIC) were used to evaluate the quality of life of the patients after the treatments.
RESULTS
Both of the groups showed improved quality of life after the treatments (P<0.01), but the improvements were more obvious in SHF pre-treatment group (P<0.05). SHF showed favorable effects in relieving such adverse effects as fatigue, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea associated with the chemotherapy.
CONCLUSIONS
SHF can improve the quality of life in NSCLC patients receiving chemotherapies.
